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Abstract
Work related stress represents one of the most important emerging risks in occupational health and management. The implementation of targeted strategies to manage stress antecedents and outcomes represents a global challenge with relevant implications for workers well-being and business success. Despite the direct and indirect costs of work-related stress are well established, companies often fail to find adequate strategies to manage stress and the use of large sums of money not always reach the goal of improving a conflictual environment. One of the most important determinants of work-related stress onset is the lack of a supportive work climate, in terms of poor support provided by colleagues, supervisors or organizations. Improving organizational support can represent a target for both managers and workers who want to mitigate the negative consequences of stress, both in economic and health terms. The aim of this study was to investigate, through a narrative literature review, how a poor organizational support can affect a work organization, and which strategies are now available to improve a supportive climate. Focusing on the last five years of publication, pertinent scientific articles are critically checked and discussed. The results of this narrative review could represent a useful tool for supervisors and leaders, providing evidence on successful strategies to improve workers' well-being and consequently business success.
Keywords: organizational support; job support; psychological well-being; supportive work climate; management strategies.
1.Introduction
In the last twenty years work-related stress has had a deep impact on organizations and workplaces. The direct and indirect costs of mental issues, including work related-stress, account for 240 billion per year (EU-OSHA, 2014). Such costs could affect business and organizations both directly and indirectly. In particular, the indirect economic consequences on the organizations are represent by absences due to illness, loss of productivity, increasing turnover and increasing number of accidents and injuries. It is undeniable that work-related stress represents one of the most relevant emerging risks, which can have a deep effect on the health and well-being of workers, and on the success in achieving goals for organizations, in a global scenario of deep changes of the world of work (Giorgi et al., 2019a).
Scientific literature has tried to establish a set of theoretical methods to assess work-related stress in organizations, focusing also on...